BY: NAZLI IBRAHIM
SUNGAI BULOH, NOV 16: After two years of sleepless nights being haunted by the ‘flying lorry’ tragedy, 14 families living near the North-South Expressway (PLUS) in Kampung Seri Indah B, can finally heave sighs of relief, as they were given new homes by the State Government.
A resident involved, when met by SelangorKini, said that in the 2014 incident, a truck carrying concrete for an MRT project and weighing 60 tonnes, had skidded and fell on one of the houses. It was an incident they would rather forget.
A teacher at Sekolah Agama Rakyat, Mohd Nakhori Arrifin, 37, said that although he is worried for his family’s safety, he has no choice but to stay put in the house they have lived in for almost 20 years.
“Since the lorry fell on our neighbour’s house, the residents here have constantly been living in fear of the same incident recurring especially when everyone is at home. We cannot sleep peacefully due to this.
“There were certain parties who had been wondering why we just don’t move away; but where can we go as our income is small and we can barely pay for a house deposit, rental, the cost to move and other related costs. Moreover, our children are also still schooling. So we really cannot afford to move.
“I am quite lucky as I have a job as a religious-school teacher. There are families with the husband as the sole breadwinner. That’s why we have resigned ourselves to continue living here. But today, we are very happy and thankful. I think I need to give thanks to Allah when I get home afterwards,” said Mohd Nakhori during the Majlis Penyerahan Notis 5A Hak Milik Tanah at Kampung Seri Indah A and Kampung Seri Indah B, here, on November 15.
Housewife, Rohana Mohamad, 49, said besides the ‘flying lorry’ incident, there was an incident of the tyre of a tow truck which flew off and hit her kitchen roof, where her 3 children were having lunch. This also continues to haunt her and her husband.
“We are perpetually worried and fearful, especially whenever we hear the sound of lorries passing by. But we are thankful now. In fact, this is what we have been waiting for.
“With God’s will, we will move next year after the completion of ownership matters and the construction of our new house,” said Rohana who has been staying in a house near the expressway since 1990.
A truck driver, Nor Azman Ismail, 49 who has also stayed there for 16 years, said that he and his family are fearful every time they hear the sound of burst tyres, which disturb their sleep.
“Although, they have built a wall after several incidences, we still don’t feel safe. We are always fearful whenever we hear the sound of tyres bursting as we are worried that the incident of a lorry skidding or tyres flying might recur.
“Thank you very much to everyone who has made the effort to ensure that we get our new land to build safer homes for our families,” he said.
Earlier, the 14 families living near the PLUS highway had received Notis 5A, distributed by Paya Jaras Assemblyman Mohd Khairuddin Othman.
